2023 Wildcard game at Dallas

[milani]

Just remember everyone. Packers beat a good Lions team and a good Chiefs team. We can beat Dallas. I love it when no one gives the pack a chance.

A little difference between a regular season game and the playoffs. This is a win or go home scenario whereas in midseason one loss or one win does not necessarily define your fate. Teams know they must bring their A game in the postseason but not always during the regular schedule. If the Packers were to win this would be an upset of major proportion. It is not only a playoff game on the road against the #2 seed but this is also the youngest team in the NFL facing a group of seasoned veterans. Most never have been on this stage. When they take the field they will feel what it is like. But truthfully I hope the Packers forget who they are and forget who the Cowboys are and just go have fun.

 

[OldSchool101]

For myself I fully understand we are young and ascending. That = a certain level of inconsistency and we’ve been a rollercoaster of good n bad this season. With that said, all along nearly everyone predicted we’d have a larger increase in production on Offense as the season wore on. That growth concept just makes sense and it’s part of sports in general. It not only held true, but in exceptional fashion. We are NOT done ascending THIS season. We still have the most room for growth across 4 possible contests. We just need to peak at the right time.

While we had no business making the playoffs after the way we started., here we are. The Postseason is like the beginning of a new season. It’s sooo hard making it to a Championship and some teams never get there. We are 1 game away from that becoming a serious reality. If we can beat a #2 seed in their house? NWe are 7+ point underdogs on the Road. We are getting healthy at the right time (overall). That’s 1 of the toughest 3 mountains in our way. The other 2 are SF and Baltimore. This is our NFC Championship in a way. Win this and next year we 100% become equal NFC favorites.

I’ve also never seen a draft in GB that had such good results, so fast? If we stack another draft like 2023? We’re going to a SB in the next couple of seasons. Let’s enjoy the ride this Sunday and remember this.. we are just us getting warm

 

[Schultz]

Both teams 7-3 since Halloween. Not sure why the nay-sayers discount us so much but they'll learn.

I hope you are correct. I would like to see a Packer win. Your stats do not give me any extra hope. Just as the fact that the Cowboys last 3 opponents had a combined record of 27-24 while GB opponents were 16-35 does not dampen my hopes any. I truly believe this is one of those throw out the records games.

 

[OldSchool101]

Btw. The Bears game was not us peaking. That could’ve easily been 26-9 points area against a team everyone touted as the ascending dark horse. The Bears had no business getting within 8 points, just my opinion. They didn’t play that way, we just missed multiple opportunities within our grasp
A missed FG (41)
A missed FG (timeclock)
An inopportune fumble across midfield with a 1st down made. That drive was going to result in a FG at minimum imo. +9 points lost and had that clock had another :30 seconds were likely putting up a TD.

 

[BrokenArrow]

Going to throw this on here because nobody ever mentions MW68 but he's one of the best. Enjoy:

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[OldSchool101]

I hope you are correct. I would like to see a Packer win. Your stats do not give me any extra hope. Just as the fact that the Cowboys last 3 opponents had a combined record of 27-24 while GB opponents were 16-35 does not dampen my hopes any. I truly believe this is one of those throw out the records games.

Good point. Our opponents were better than their collective Records. Several teams had lost their QB for multiple games. The Bears included. Chicago should’ve been a Wildcard contender and the fact that we largely dominated them tells me we’re in that Divisional level strength team.
We knocked out a rising team who had won 5 of the last 7 games
Bears

we knocked out a Wild card contender. Vikings

We beat a Division Winner
Detroit

Beat the AFC West Leader
KC

Beat a team that lost a Division tiebreaker in NFC South
Saints

 

[El Guapo]

Just as the fact that the Cowboys last 3 opponents had a combined record of 27-24 while GB opponents were 16-35 does not dampen my hopes any. I truly believe this is one of those throw out the records games.

I'm going to expand on this because the full season record should not be the only way to look at it. Looking at how these teams did in the past month or so:

Both teams went 3-2 over the last five games. Below is a breakdown of how their opponents did down the stretch:

Cowboys opponents' records:
Last 3 games 8-8
Last 4 games 10-10
Last 5 games 11-14

Packers opponents' records:
Last 3 games 5-10
Last 4 games 7-13
Last 5 games 10-15

 

[Schultz]

My point was depending on your agenda you can cherry pick stats pretty easily to strengthen your argument. To be honest there is only 1 team that I will be shocked if they win this weekend.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

On first getting the Cowboy matchup, I was thinking they would smite us. Some of the pundits are saying it could be a blowout. The cowboy offense is awesome and the Packer defense stinks. But I took a look at the Cowboy season and came away with a different take and some renewed hope.

Here are their results:

Giants 40 -0
Jets 30-10
Cards 16-28 Loss
Pats 38- 3
49ers 10-42 Loss
Chargers 20-17
Rams 43-20
Eagles 23- 28 Loss
Giants 49-17
Panthers 33-10
Command 45-10
Sea 41-35
Eagles 33-13
Bills 10-31 Loss
Dolphins 20-22 Loss
Lions 20-19
Command 38-10

So 7 wins came against some poor teams with losing records (# of wins).

2x Giants(6), 2x Commanders (4), Jets (7), Pats(4), Panthers (2), Chargers (5)

The other bad team they played they Lost
Cardinals (4)

Of the good teams they played Lions, 49ers, Bills(11), Dolphins(11),Rams(10), Seattle(9) - So they went 3-3 against good teams. Some would argue they lost to the Lions, but oh well.

They lost to the Eagles when the Eagles were playing good, and beat them when they became a bad team. My wife BTW is an eagles fan so I watch them when they are on. Night and day. I don’t think I have ever seen a team look so good and then a couple weeks later, look so bad. Something happened in that locker room.

I came away less than impressed with the Vowboys and now believe we have a shot. They don’t play well against decent teams. We are getting hot. If our defense continues to play like they have, which I am expecting now that MLF is taking spending more time focusing on.

Common recent opponent Lions - we smoke em and the cowboys eeked out a win. Barely.

Prediction:
We surprise them. Cowboys are going to be looking at the defense from 4 weeks ago and licking their chops. Dak gets pressured and dropped a few times in the 1st quarter. Packers move the ball through the air with surprising ease. Love has his best game ever: 28-35, 360/3/0 - Packers win 27-25.

Was anyone able to find a site that actually had an update on "Strength of Schedule Played"?

I did about 10 minutes of searching and was frustrated. I found a lot of old predictions of SOS, but nothing with the updated "End of 2023 SOS".

 

[OldSchool101]

I think 1 thing that could be a factor in helping the Packers this season is QB mobility. Love has shown thus far to be somewhat mobile (fumble withstanding). Love has been similar to young Rodgers in scrambling ability and recognizing holes or escape hatches. However Love actually looks a hair better than young Rodgers at avoiding Sacks when getting hit. Loves size and lower body center of gravity help his cause. At 6’4” X220lb and a bit quicker than he is fast, Love is not immune from just running it in for a score or a needed 1st down

In his near record breaking tear for a first year starter. Loves efficiency on the ground has been stealthy and thus ignored. Across those same
8 games? He’s quietly rushed 29/183 yards and
6.3 per
2TD’s

Many of those 3-4 runs at 23 yards per game are quietly garnering either a critical 1st down or TD.

Rodgers first starting season across 16 contests (double games above)
52/199 yards
3.83 per run
3 TD’s

It’s a part of the game nobody talks about. Yet Love has 4 Rushing TD’s and has one of the highest per run efficiency in GB. It’s a trait that similarly Makes Mahomes dangerous. Do I want Love running like Fields? No.
Do I think he can be selective to get a critical 1st down or roll away fake for a TD in postseason.
100% Yes
I believe it’s a part of the game no one is planning for. At least not our opponent. I’d save a few designed QB runs in the second half, possibly with an optional TE outlet option.

 

[Schultz]

Forgive me I have to ask. If you are comparing, why are you using 16 games for 1 guy and only 8 games for the other guy?

 

[OldSchool101]

Was anyone able to find a site that actually had an update on "Strength of Schedule Played"?

I did about 10 minutes of searching and was frustrated. I found a lot of old predictions of SOS, but nothing with the updated "End of 2023 SOS".

https://www.espn.com/nfl/fpi

 

[OldSchool101]

Forgive me I have to ask. If you are comparing, why are you using 16 games for 1 guy and only 8 games for the other guy?

Because Rodgers sucked the other 8. I had to try to give him help. I like the guy
Don’t make me post it!!

No. In all seriousness Schultz, it’s about where we are trending right now. The arrow is pointing up. Aaron was stealthy good using his legs earlier in career. I’ve posted dozens of times how he’s one of only a few QB in history BOTH top 10 passing AND top 10 Rushing. Aaron recently knocked Elway off the list.
Love has nearly done (on the ground) what Rodgers did in an entire first season, but across just 8 games. Adding that to his passing performance over the last 8 games just reinforces even more how productive Jordan has been.

I actually use Rodgers comparisons because he’s one of (and was one of run wise) the best in the business. It’s naturally a compliment to compare top sports players across generations.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/fpi

Thank you.

So if I am reading this correctly, the Packers had the 25th hardest schedule and the Cowboys the 28th? Or conversely, the Packers had the 8th easiest Schedule and the Cowboys the 5th easiest?

 

[OldSchool101]

Thank you.

So if I am reading this correctly, the Packers had the 25th hardest schedule and the Cowboys the 28th? Or conversely, the Packers had the 8th easiest Schedule and the Cowboys the 5th easiest?

I think it’s #1 is the hardest scaled to #32 being easiest. I’m about 90% I just looked at it myself.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I think it’s #1 is the hardest scaled to #32 being easiest. I’m about 90% I just looked at it myself.

Pretty sure that is right. If you look at the NFC West, it had 3 teams with 9 or more wins and each of the 4 teams are ranked in the top 6 hardest schedules (SOS).

 

[chemist]

I think 1 thing that could be a factor in helping the Packers this season is QB mobility. Love has shown thus far to be somewhat mobile (fumble withstanding). Love has been similar to young Rodgers in scrambling ability and recognizing holes or escape hatches. However Love actually looks a hair better than young Rodgers at avoiding Sacks when getting hit. Loves size and lower body center of gravity help his cause. At 6’4” X220lb and a bit quicker than he is fast, Love is not immune from just running it in for a score or a needed 1st down

In his near record breaking tear for a first year starter. Loves efficiency on the ground has been stealthy and thus ignored. Across those same
8 games? He’s quietly rushed 29/183 yards and
6.3 per
2TD’s

Many of those 3-4 runs at 23 yards per game are quietly garnering either a critical 1st down or TD.

Rodgers first starting season across 16 contests (double games above)
52/199 yards
3.83 per run
3 TD’s

It’s a part of the game nobody talks about. Yet Love has 4 Rushing TD’s and has one of the highest per run efficiency in GB. It’s a trait that similarly Makes Mahomes dangerous. Do I want Love running like Fields? No.
Do I think he can be selective to get a critical 1st down or roll away fake for a TD in postseason.
100% Yes
I believe it’s a part of the game no one is planning for. At least not our opponent. I’d save a few designed QB runs in the second half, possibly with an optional TE outlet option.

There's no doubt Love has surpassed Rodgers in his first year with the reins. In fact IMO he has FAR surpassed Rodgers. I don't say that because Love has gotten us to 9 wins this year while Rodgers handed us a 6-10 season his first try.
Getting 9 wins is impressive but even more impressive is the fact that when Rodgers began he did so with a very experienced receiver corps with Donald Driver and Greg Jennings, while Love has had to deal with young, inexperienced guys who are just learning the game.
Just those two things alone says to me Love us going to turn out to be the best QB we've had.

 

[PackerDNA]

Man the injury crap has just gotten beyond ridiculous. Now Alexander is iffy for Sunday because he stepped on a teammate's foot and turned his ankle. Un f****** real

 

[El Guapo]

I ran some statistics to understand point differentials, both overall and by quarter. In our games, the announcers haven't been shy about saying that the Packers excel in the 3rd quarter. It is apparent that the Cowboys jump out to leads and then turn their defense loose.

Except for the Lions and Vikings games, we scored 7 points or less in the first quarter of each game. More than ever, to win in the playoffs we are going to need to get off to faster starts, especially on the road.

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[El Guapo]

Man the injury crap has just gotten beyond ridiculous. Now Alexander is iffy for Sunday because he stepped on a teammate's foot and turned his ankle. Un f****** real

As someone who has broken his ankles, gotten high ankle sprains, and rolls them constantly (in my kitchen, getting out of bed, etc.), I consider myself a bit of an expert. Unless they list Jaire as having a sprain of some sort, I would expect him to play. If he just rolled his ankle it will just be sore for a while.

 

[OldSchool101]

As someone who has broken his ankles, gotten high ankle sprains, and rolls them constantly (in my kitchen, getting out of bed, etc.), I consider myself a bit of an expert. Unless they list Jaire as having a sprain of some sort, I would expect him to play. If he just rolled his ankle it will just be sore for a while.

Yes. Also add to this and we are going to take an abundance of caution. Alexander really just needs 1-2 Limited practices and he’s good to go. We don’t need to push his ankle, I’d just get it in the ice bucket and proceed cautiously. There’s still plenty of time IF it’s a minor ankle twist before suiting up Sunday afternoon.

Watson just needs to be a go. What’s the risk? You pull a hamstring again? It’s 50/50 he’ll get 6 months to let it heal either way, let’s quit being so fragile and warm up and stretch it good and let’s test it out on Sunday. What’s the worst thing he tweaks it? It’s already tweaked let’s get going cmon. No risk no reward

 

[PackerDNA]

Update. Although he didn't talk to reporters, Alexander was seen in the locker room without anything on his ankle and no noticeable limp.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Update. Although he didn't talk to reporters, Alexander was seen in the locker room without anything on his ankle and no noticeable limp.

Maybe he just twisted his ego?

 

[weeds]

Maybe he just twisted his ego?

...or he knows Lamb is coming. All the talk in the world won't help.

 

[Zartan]

It would be hilarious if Packers beat The Cowboys and exercised their demons in SF. It would be really really hilarious if Pack stumbled into a SB win.